Telematics services are services that are provided by a call center to a vehicle and/or to the operator of a vehicle that relate to various needs of the vehicle or the operator. Telematics services commonly include, but are not limited to, the remote monitoring of vehicle maintenance needs, the provision of turn by turn navigation guidance, and the coordination of emergency services during vehicle emergencies, to name just a few.
A telematics service system includes a telematics unit that is located with the vehicle, a call center that is located remotely from the vehicle, and a communication network that communicatively connects the two. Historically, the telematics unit has been embedded in the vehicle (i.e., mounted to the vehicle during vehicle assembly) and therefore available to the operator throughout the operator's ownership of the vehicle.
Over the past several years, smartphones have increasingly become available in the marketplace. A smartphone is a cell phone that includes additional functions including, but not limited to e-mail service and Internet web browsing. Many smartphone are also capable of running software applications commonly known as Apps. Some Apps are designed to allow a smartphone to function as a telematics unit and to engage with the communication networks that are utilized by existing telematics systems. Accordingly, a smartphone loaded with, and running an appropriate App can be used by owners of vehicles to procure some or all of the available telematics services.
Conventional vehicles, however, are generally not configured to allow easy integration (e.g., physical and communicative coupling) of a smartphone into the vehicle. Accordingly, a vehicle owner who attempts to use his or her smartphone as a telematics unit will commonly lay the smartphone on an interior surface of the passenger compartment in a position that is accessible to the owner to allow the owner to utilize the telematics services and other features of the smartphone. Frequently, this entails the smartphone resting untethered and unrestrained on a smooth interior surface of the vehicle where it may be free to move in response to the dynamic forces encountered during normal vehicle operations. Some consumers may find this arrangement undesirable.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a component that facilitates integration of the smartphone into the interior of a vehicle. In addition, it is desirable to provide a component that facilitates a user's ability to utilize his or her smartphone as a telematics unit. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.